Cal Phil Chorale Joins Heralded Maestro Victor Vener And His World-Class Orchestra For First Of Spectacular Five Concert Summer Series

Maestro Victor Vener and the acclaimed California Philharmonic present what promises to be another awe-inspiring summer series of concerts, mixing stage and sound, at the iconic music destination the Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall.

The magic begins on Sunday, June 25, 2017, with Wagner At The Movies, a colossal concert that seamlessly transports the audience from the opera stage to the silver screen. The sensational season opener features some of the most remarkable moments of Wagner’s Tannhauser, Die Meistersinger, and The Flying Dutchman.

Bridging the gap between stage and screen is the luscious score by Brian Tyler for Thor 2: The Dark World, the grandiose music of Conan the Barbarian by Poledouris, John Barry’s iconic score to The Lion in Winter and the timeless score to the Oscar winning film Titanic, by the late James Horner.

The beloved Maestro and orchestra are joined by the Cal Phil Chorale under the direction of resident chorus Maestra Marya Basaraba during this epic season opener.

Cal Phil’s 2017 Summer Schedule is as follows:

Sunday, July 9 – Rodgers, Hammerstein, and the Organ

The multi-talented Kevin Earley and rising star Annalise Staudt join Cal Phil for some of the hit songs from Broadway dynamic duo Rodgers and Hammerstein from the musicals Oklahoma, The Sound of Music, Carousel, South Pacific, and The King and I. Who better to unleash the power of the WDCH organ than its curator Phillip Smith. Smith will be performing the relentlessly powerful, and beautiful Organ Symphony by Saint-Saens, along with the rarely performed Festival Prelude by Richard Strauss.

Sunday, July 30 – An Afternoon in Old Vienna With Judith Hill

Among the great Viennese composers, one was the aptly named “Waltz King” Johann Strauss Jr. Some of his most famous works like Tales from the Vienna Woods, Blue Danube, and opera Die Fledermaus will be setting the mood. On the less subtle side, fellow Austrian countryman Bruckner will be heard as we share excerpts of his larger than life romantic symphony. Johannes Brahms will be making an appearance with his ever famousFifth Hungarian Dance. Finally, the endlessly talented and stunning, Grammy award winning artist Judith Hill joins the Cal Phil once again, gracing us with both standard and original songs. Johann Strauss’ music just makes you feel happy.

Sunday, August 13 – Shakespeare in Love

California Philharmonic and the Cal Phil Chorale explore the many shapes of Shakespeare’s influence as they perform possibly the greatest rendition of Romeo and Juliet of all time, Bernstein’s West Side Story and Hamlet’s new look and sound in Disney’s timeless animated film, The Lion King. Also on the program are Midsummer Night’s Dream by Mendelssohn, and the music of Henry the 5th portrayed by Patrick Doyle. The mesmerizing sound of soloist Sara Andon on flute pays heed to the Hamlet Suite by Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota’s Romeo and Juliet.

Sunday, August 20 – World’s Best Marches

What better way to end a larger than life summer season than with a bang! Cal Phil’s 2017 summer season finale features Tchaikovsky’s extraordinary Marche Slave as well as Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance. Special guest virtuoso pianist Daniel Lessner dazzles with the immortalized Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini. We can’t have a march concert without the king of marches, and possibly the most celebrated American composer in history, John Philip Sousa. Come hear some of his most popular marches, and his most iconic work Stars and Stripes Forever.

Cal Phil at Walt Disney Concert Hall performances start at 2:00pm, with the intimate pre-concert Talks With The Maestro at 1:00pm in BP Hall. The California Philharmonic is supported by the California Philharmonia Society, a non-profit community benefit organization whose main emphasis at this time is to support the California Philharmonic.

Tickets for Walt Disney Concert Hall are available for purchase at the Music Center’s website.

Haute Tease

Thirty guests are feared dead after a series of earthquakes in central Italy triggered an massive avalanche that buried a luxury hotel in the Italian Alps, trapping dozens beneath mountains of heavy packed snow, uprooted trees and loosened boulders.

Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter, from Lila 9th Productions and Ad Hominem Productions, brings to the screen an unusual mix of the contemporary, evolved life in modern Japan coupled with the restrictions of century held societal mores and customs.

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 79 songs from eligible feature-length motion pictures released in 2014 are in contention for nominations in the Original Song category for the 87th Oscars®.

Blondie & Garbage announced their North American tour will kick off on July 5th in Saratoga, CA and wrap on August 12th in Dallas, TX. John Doe & Exene Cervenka will provide support on the first leg of the tour and Deap Vally for the second.

Alan Henning, a volunteer humanitarian worker and Muslim, the fourth hostage held by the terror group ISIS/ISIL has been executed by his captors according to global media agencies. He was kidnapped in Syria.

The main suspect in the murders of Liberty German and Abigail Williams, the two Indiana teens killed while hiking on Delphi Historic Trail, has been identified and his image was captured on park surveillance.

Three are dead and at least nine injured, including the shooter, as a lone white man opened fire in a crowded Lafayette, Louisiana, Theater about twenty minutes into the screening of the Amy Schumer comedy TrainWreck.

A suspected gas main explosion leveled a building on Manhattan’s lower east side injuring dozens some critical as firefighters attempted to contain the quickly spreading seven alarm inferno before it consumed the adjoining buildings.

Theatre, Music, Books

Merging its funky desert style with an internationally acclaimed lineup of musical artists, this three day (and four night) family-friendly festival is truly a global music experience. The 13th Annual Spring Joshua Tree Music Festival melds the overwhelming spirit of desert freedom with powerful music from around the world to create a lighthearted oasis for music lovers.

Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts, co-founded by one of the city's most celebrated sons Paul McCartney, is launching The 2Ube, an eclectic showcase of musical talent from across the north west.

Mick Jones of The Clash, one of the most established and respected figures in British pop music, has opened his Rock and Roll Public Library as part of the 56th Venice Biannale releasing a very limited edition of up tempo instrumentals called 'Ex Libris'.

The Fifth Letter, a novel by research scholar Dr. Vivian Carpenter, introduces Katherine Helena Ross, the first black female Supreme Court justice caught between her conscience and political expedience when forced to consider the most important question facing the U.S. Supreme Court today: Who is a person with inalienable rights?